His gaze snapped to Caden’s. “I’m going after them.”
“No, you most certainly are not.” Caden took two steps toward Ten when he was stopped in his tracks, unable to move. “Ten….”
Ten turned, his back rigid. “I’m going. I won’t leave them alone there, and I won’t let you stop me.” His gaze narrowed, and Caden feared Ten believed he would leave Quade on the other side.
“Do you really think I would abandon them? I love Quade, and A’kosh is our friend. Like you, I won’t leave them there.” Caden drew in a breath. “Please, let me help you.”
Ten was quiet for a moment, but then his shoulders slumped, and Caden found the force that had been holding him dissolved. He hurried to Ten’s side.
“Thank you for trusting me.”
“I do,” Ten said softly. “You’re my Poppa. I’m… sorry I got angry.”
“It happens.” That conversation would come later. Right now, they had a family to save. “Now, how are we going to get there?”
Ten muttered something under his breath, but Caden caught the words “I can do it.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
He sighed and turned Caden loose. “A’kosh is my half soul. I can use his abilities, just like you could use Dad’s.”
Narrowing his gaze, Caden glared at Ten. “What do you mean, I can use Quade’s?”
“Poppa, we don’t have time for—”
Caden waggled a finger in Ten’s face. “Oh, you’ll make time. You’ve been holding out on us ever since I got here. What the hell do you mean, I can use Quade’s?”
Another sigh rolled out of Ten. “You’re half of his soul, which means you make up half of what he is. Your abilities are meant to complement each other. You control plants. Dad is more animalistic. I can do things with my mind, while A’kosh’s physical presence keeps me grounded so my abilities don’t overwhelm me. Every soul longs to be joined, to make each other complete.”
“And you didn’t tell us this why?”
Ten fidgeted, twisting his fingers together. “Because you’re not human this time. You’re the Tree of Life, the source of all creation. I thought maybe you weren’t meant to be together this lifetime.” He lowered his gaze.
“If you’re right, it could be the last lifetime we have together. Did you even consider that? If this is where it all goes away, don’t you think we deserve the chance to face it together?”
Ten’s lower lip trembled as his eyes filled with tears. “I’m sorry, Poppa. I didn’t mean to… I know you… I’m sorry.”
Standing there, his fists clenched at his sides, on the verge of tears, Ten reminded Caden once more that he was a child. Yes, he possessed enormous gifts, and true, he was very mature for his age, but he was a little boy. His son. The one who never had stability in his life, or someone to love him. Caden grabbed Ten’s shoulders and pulled him in.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled.”
Ten shook his head harshly. “No, don’t. I messed up. It’s just that… Dad’s never had the best control with his wolf. The two were at odds for so many years, and it made Dad angry. I was afraid that if he gained access to your abilities, he might do something like trying to tear the wolf out of his body. And with your powers, he probably could have done it.”
The words rocked Caden to his core. Ten’s reasoning was selfish, but not because the boy was. For the first time he could remember, Ten had a family, and the thought of being alone again terrified him.
“You’re not going to lose us,” Caden vowed. “Come on. We need to go.”
“You should stay here,” Ten insisted. “This is….” He bit his lip. “This is where it all ends.”
Oh. Whatever. Quade wasn’t going to die alone. “Let me tell you something, okay? It doesn’t matter if everything is going to blow up. I’d rather be with my family at the end than be scared by myself, you get it?” He reached out and touched Ten’s shoulder. “I love you, Ten. You’re my son, and I won’t let you face this alone. Now, let’s go get our boys.”
A tremulous smile lit Ten’s face. “I love you, Poppa.” He held out his hand, and a moment later, Caden put his in Ten’s. “This might be weird, so try not to barf, okay?”
At first there was nothing unusual, but then Caden was assaulted by lights and color as the room disappeared, as he and Ten were thrown into a tunnel of twisting pathways. Was this how Ten saw the world? How could he do it and not be driven mad?
A heartbeat later, Caden and Ten were deposited on what could only be the alien world he’d seen in A’kosh’s portal. Any other time Caden would love to explore, but there were important things that had to be taken care of first.
“Can you sense A’kosh?”
Ten closed his eyes and turned slowly, face lifted up toward the sky. “Yes.”
The single word held so much weight. Ten opened his eyes, and Caden took a half step back.
“Your eyes….” They’d gone dark, like A’kosh, and Ten’s face was different, less softness and more sharp angles.
“I’m tapping into A’kosh’s power to allow me to breathe here. The formic acid in the air would strangle me if I didn’t.”
“What about me?”
Ten’s face continued to morph, and it freaked Caden out to see his son changing.
“You’re the Tree of Life, Poppa. You’re filtering it out.” He scowled. “Dad’s not so lucky. This air is too thick, too heavy for him. I had no idea it was this bad.”
“What is it?”
“Insects, like ants, use formic acid to neutralize poisons. Some species have toxic acid that protects them. That’s what’s in the air here. To A’kosh, it’s a warning. Something bad happened here. I can’t sense any other life within a hundred miles, but the area should be teeming with A’kosh’s people.”
“Are they….?”
“Dead? I don’t know. Maybe, but… I don’t know.” Now that the transformation was complete, Ten’s face appeared similar to those Snapchat filters that superimpose one image over another. The core softness of Ten was still there, but the warrior that was A’kosh was also evident.
“Come on. We have to move.”
Everything about Ten was different. His manner, his bearing. He didn’t seem like Caden and Quade’s child anymore.
“Ten, what’s happening to you?”
“Don’t worry, Poppa. It’s all okay.”
But Caden didn’t believe that. Nothing about this was okay.
“Tell me what’s going on. Now.”
“I’m… changing. Remember the day you called me an unusual kid, and I told you I wouldn’t always be? This is what I’m becoming.”
“What? No! Why?”
“Even though it wasn’t supposed to happen for several years, I’m accepting A’kosh’s half soul. When it’s complete, he and I will be one. He didn’t want this. He wanted me to stay who I was until the time was right for us to be together, but if I don’t do it now, there won’t be any time left for anyone.”